Page 166 of His Forced Bride

She stalks forward after me as I back away.

"I gave birth to you. I nursed you through childhood illnesses, guided your first steps, loved you more than my own life. And you defend the men who destroyed our family."

"You destroyed our family when you left!"

The accusation pushes her past any remaining control.

She lunges toward the antique desk, yanking open a drawer to reveal a chrome pistol.

Her hands shake as she points it at my chest, but her eyes burn with absolute conviction.

"I would rather kill you than lose you again," she says, voice dropping to deadly quiet.

"If I can't save you from what you've become, then I'll save you from what you're becoming."

Her logic is twisted, but I can see she means every word.

In her diseased mind, murdering me would constitute mercy, sparing me from further corruption.

"You won't pull that trigger," I tell her, though certainty eludes me.

"Won't I? Look what they've made of you. You're married to St. Petersburg's most dangerous criminal. I'd be doing the world a favor."

The gun wavers in her grip, but her finger stays on the trigger.

She's working herself toward the decision to fire, convincing herself that killing me represents the right choice.

"Put the weapon down and we'll discuss this rationally."

"No more discussion. No more chances for you to choose wrongly. You've picked your side, and it isn't mine."

Tears stream down her face, but her resolve appears to strengthen rather than weaken.

"I should have done this years ago. Should have taken you away from your father before he could fill your head with lies."

I edge closer, keeping my eye on the weapon.

She's not trained like a professional.

If I can get within reach, disarming her becomes possible.

But I'll have to control my racing heart if I want to live.

"You want to know the real truth about your precious father?" she asks, keeping the gun trained on my chest.

"He didn't cast me out because of theft.

He exiled me because I had ambition. I wanted to do more with my life."

"So you decided murder was the appropriate response?"

"I decided to become whatever was necessary to protect my child. But you're no longer a child, and you've made your final choice."

Her grip on the weapon steadies.

She's going to shoot.

I can read it in her posture, in the way her body prepares for recoil.